Micron Baja Challenge in Baja 1000 preview

UNIQUE FIELD OF DRIVERS SET IN MICRON BAJA CHALLENGE CLASS FOR THE WILD ADVENTURE OF THE BAJA 1000 OFF-ROAD RACE

ENSENADA, B.C., Mexico, Nov. 1, 2006 -- With some 400 racers set to take on the ultimate off- road adventure of this year's Tecate/SCORE International Baja 1000 on Nov. 15-18, a special group of non-professional drivers are participating in North America's most intense off-road contest in the middle of Baja California peninsula. Some sixty or eighty racers will battle in a separate division in twenty identically-prepared off-road vehicles in the Micron Technology Wide Open Baja Challenge presented by BF Goodrich with the entries running a wide gamut of professions.

While pros like Ed and Troy Herbst, Robby Gordon and Mark McMillin battle each year for the overall title, most of the Baja Challenge drivers hope just to complete the nearly 1,000 miles of treacherous terrain. Among this year's Micron Baja Challenge competitors will include actor Patrick Dempsey, star of the ABC-TV hit series "Grey's Anatomy," Robyn and Becky Gordon, sisters of NASCAR and off-road racer Robby Gordon who have entered an all-women driver lineup, Mike Metzger, the Freestyle Motocross legend who recently jumped the fountains in Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, Bud Brutsman, a renowned television show creator and producer, and Micron president Steve Appleton, the maverick CEO who participates in a variety of wild sports including stunt flying.

"The Micron Wide Baja Challenge class is a unique way to introduce new people to off-road racing," said Sal Fish, president of SCORE International. "We are able to bring in celebrities, racers from other forms of competition, corporate executives and a wide variety of people always interested in racing in the Baja. This is a great program for the novice racer."

In addition to the special Baja Challenge division in this year's Baja 1000, new technology will be introduced into wild desert event that will chronicle every moment of the nearly 1,000 mile trek with four vehicles, including one driven by Appleton. Micron's innovative image sensor and advanced flash memory technology will capture all of the bumps and bruises given over the rough Baja terrain. The four Baja Challenge machines will be specially equipped with Micron Digital Clarity image sensors and Lexar Professional CompactFlash memory cards to capture and store video of the competition.

Micron Technology Wide Open Baja Challenge Racers In The Baja 1000 In this year's Baja 1000, Micron is equipping its vehicles with two specially designed automotive imaging solutions mounted to the frame of the vehicles. One imaging chip will record images that the drivers and passengers will view through the front of the vehicles, while the other will record the drivers and passengers themselves in action behind the wheel.

"For Micron, the challenge of competing in the Baja 1000 is an odyssey that combines our competitive spirit with our drive to engineer the most advanced digital technology solutions in the world," said Appleton.

The Micron Technology Baja Challenge class is the largest "arrive and drive" professional motorsports class in the world. Drivers traveled to the Baja California with their helmets and racing uniforms and the rest is provided for them by the Wide Open Baja, a company that hosts Baja tours throughout the year. Wide Open Baja provides complete race support including 300 pit and staff members for the 20 Micron Baja Challenge entries as well as chase and support vehicles, five planes and eight helicopters to assist in communications throughout the 1000-mile trek. This year's Tecate SCORE Baja 1000, the 39th edition of the oldest and best known off-road race in the world, will be televised on a delayed basis as a one-hour NBC Sports special on Dec. 10. Micron will have a special Baja 1000 section on its website at www.micron.com.

Micron Technology, Inc., is one of the world's leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions. Through its worldwide operations, Micron manufactures and markets DRAMs, NAND flash memory, CMOS image sensors, other semiconductor components, and memory modules for use in leading-edge computing, consumer, networking, and mobile products. Micron's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the MU symbol.

-credit: www.micron.com